Portsmouth City Council recently embarked on a project to add some colour and biodiversity to an area situated by council housing blocks; home to a mixture of council housing tenants, including the elderly.
Entitled the ‘Church Street Project’, the area around Nickleby House in Portsmouth has received a magical burst of wildflower wonderfulness in the form of our Meadowscape Pro™.
Portsmouth City Council has recently used Meadowscape Pro™ in three different projects across the city, but the Church Street project has been the largest. The Portsmouth City Council’s Green & Clean Team laid 2,480m2 of Meadowscape Pro™ with over 2,000m2 being laid on one, single bank.
The team also received some help laying the Meadowscape Pro™ from 20 volunteers from a local refugee group called Action Asylum. This group was created by Portsmouth City of Sanctuary (PCoS) who are a grassroots humanitarian charity that assist Portsmouth’s migrant community. They support individuals regardless of status and help them to integrate with the local community in various ways, such as volunteering on projects such as the Church Street Project. The charity operates from All Saints Church, directly opposite the Church Street Project area.
The location itself was chosen for rejuvenation as Church Street feeds directly from the main motorway into Portsmouth (the M275), meaning that there is considerable passing (and sometimes stationary) traffic alongside the Portsmouth City Council housing sites. The area is very visible, pollution levels are high as a result of the nearby traffic flow, and the site has also historically been very barren in terms of planting.
Wildflowers have been introduced into the area as a means of increasing biodiversity and encouraging wildlife, as well as improving the air quality and the overall look and feel of the area.
The Church Street Project has also played an important role as a flagship area for Portsmouth City Council as they work towards their commitment to becoming carbon neutral by 2030.